I knew when I bought my front loader washing machine that I would likely have issues with mold and stink. But I love how well they clean huge loads (as long as they don’t stink) so chose one anyway.
It was a repo when I bought it (not new but less than a year old), still very nice and given that I prefer to buy used over new to save money, the $250 price tag was awesome!
A front loading washer needs bi-weekly cleanings (or monthly in my case) to keep it clean and mold gone. Not a hard thing to do and typically it completely takes care of the smell.
But lately my washer stunk every single time I ran it. The door was clean, the seal was clean, and I had even ran straight bleach through my washer which is something I hate to use.
It left my clothes smelling funky too and only line-drying would take that smell out. Which I try to do anyway since it saves me money to line-dry, but all the same I didn’t like that smell!
No matter what I did to clean my front loading washer, it still smelled awful!
My washer smelled the worst when it was draining so I suspicioned that the hoses had some sort of build up in them. While I was considering the possibility of dirty hoses I remembered something.
A couple of years ago I replaced my washer’s water pump and made an interesting discovery. Perhaps that was the missing link here. Keep reading to find out.
How to Get Rid of Washer Stink
The very first thing you should do to help get rid of that smell in your washer is to clean it. Take 5-10 minutes a couple of times a month and perform the following tasks.
You will need
- White Vinegar
- Cleansing essential oil of choice (optional) thieves is my choice.
- Rags
- Small scrub brush or toothbrush.
Mix the vinegar 50/50 with water and add a few drops of your oil. If you like exact measurements, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water and 20 drops of oil is about what I do. (I also make thieves wipes)
Pull out your soap dispenser and scrub it down good in your kitchen sink.
Next use the scrub brush to clean the area where the soap dispenser goes. I haven’t been real good about cleaning that part of my front loading washer and was really surprised at the amount of mold I found there.
All those black spots are mold. Depending on the soap you use, you may need to really scrub at the soap scum. I bought my machine used and there was a lot of soap scum. I actually used my natural shower cleaner (I think it works better than vinegar) to get rid of that.
Clean the rubber seal.
That rubber seal is the main culprit when you have a stinky washing machine. clean the entire thing, being sure to pull it away from the drum and clean down in there.
While you are doing this, make sure to wipe down the door too.
Doing this a couple of times a month will keep the mold and smell away.
However, there could be another problem. Even though my machine was shining inside and out, the entire laundry room stank when I washed clothes.
That’s when I remembered the lint trap.
That’s right. Did you know your washing machine has a lint trap? It does, and it’s pretty easy to clean.
Get Rid of Washer Stink by Cleaning your Lint Trap
Not all washing machines have a lint trap, my mom’s Maytag Neptune doesn’t. However most of them do.
My washing machine has a lower panel that comes off by removing three bolts at the bottom, this reveals the lint trap, water pump and a few other things. A Google search has revealed that many machines have this.
Other machines have an even smaller panel that opens to reveal just the lint trap. Chances are, if your machine has this little panel, you already know about it. 🙂
Once I removed the lower panel, this is what I saw.
Right there front and center is the lint trap. Don’t open it just yet! There is a lot of nasty stinky water hanging out there and you need a tray to catch it or a wet vac. I used a wet vac and opened the lint trap slowly to allow the vac to catch all of the water.
When I opened it, this is what I found.
All together now, YECK-BLECK-NASTY!
You can see the nasty, but you cannot smell the nasty. Which is quite fortunate, because it STUNK!
Clean that sucker off and scrub it good with vinegar. Be sure to clean inside where the trap goes as well. If you find a sock or two in there just throw them away, trust me, the stink is in them to stay!
Once I cleaned that lint trap the smell was completely gone!
Once again my washing machine is stink free!
Did you know about lint traps?
Sinea Pies says
July 22, 2015 at 8:37 amWow! You are brilliant! I don’t know if those of us who have top loaders get this problem or not. I have heard more questionable reports about front-loaders that I am thinking I will stick with the top loader, instead.
New to your blog. Following you on all your social media!
If you have time, come on over to my blog for Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop? If you do, leave me a comment so I know you were there and tell me what you shared so I can find it LOL. Last week we had ove 600 posts shared. I don’t always get to all of them because there are just SO many!
Blessings ….. Sinea from Ducks n a Row
Kendra says
July 22, 2015 at 2:07 pmThanks Sinea, I truly love my washing machine and it get stuff cleaner that top loaders. However the smell can get annoying.
Diana says
December 28, 2015 at 10:29 pmLove the natural remedy you provided. I always use vinegar to clean.
Morgan @ Morgan Manages Mommyhood says
February 15, 2016 at 3:40 pmLove this! I’ve been using a lot more natural cleaners. I don’t know why I’ve never thought of deep cleaning my washer! Especially since ours came with the house.. eek!
Rebecca says
February 17, 2016 at 9:35 pmThanks for the reminder! I emptied out our lint trap a long time ago, and I’ve forgotten about it since. I bet that would help my clothes come out better. Now I just need to find an old pan to empty it into.
sheila says
February 18, 2016 at 9:21 pmgood tips. sheila
Carol Griffin says
February 25, 2016 at 10:31 amWe have had our front load washer and dryer for 4+ years and never had a problem with odor. But, I have heard issues with some that do. When we bought it new, the salesman told us to leave the washer door open for several hours after taking out the wet clothes which would prevent any musty smells, etc. Plus, we use the detergent that was recommended for a front load washing machine. Also, the dispenser cup/area where we pour in the detergent or bleach if needed has never shown any signs of “gunk” ………I could not be happier with my front load washer and dryer! Love them!
Kendra says
February 25, 2016 at 11:38 amThat’s awesome! I think the newer ones have far less issues than the older ones for sure! I bought mine in ’08 and it was a couple years old at that time already.
Samantha says
June 8, 2017 at 9:55 amThe newer ones have a position that helps them stay open without swinging into the room. Ours does stay better much longer than the older ones.
Thanks for this post. I looked at someone else’s post and they did not mention the lint trap.
Kendra says
June 8, 2017 at 11:41 amThat’s because many of us don’t realize they are there, and some of the original front loaders don’t even have the lint trap. 🙂
Lorna says
May 11, 2016 at 4:15 amI’VE had my front loader for 10 yrs only had problems with stink the first month then called the manufacturer & started to HE soap & I always leave the door open.
Julia says
March 2, 2016 at 1:47 pmI love my front load washer but I do leave the door open after each wash and the detergent dispenser open after each wash. Also, I use a 1/2 of white vinegar to each load. No smell so far, but I am going to check out that lint trap! Yuck!
Zetta says
September 21, 2016 at 10:13 amI put Lysol or Pinesol in the fabric softener section of the tray. In 10 years I’ve never had a problem with stink.
Emily Rose says
March 15, 2016 at 7:41 pmGreat tips!
Emily from ✨ The Daily Fashion Inspiration ✨
Mrs L says
April 27, 2016 at 9:35 amWe bought our first washer in 2002 and just last week it began having issues. Instead of fixing it we opted for a new one. But in all those years I never cleaned my washer and never had a smell problem. Why would that be?
Kendra says
April 27, 2016 at 11:38 amTop loaders typically don’t smell, while front loaders do. However there are exceptions in every case.
Who knows why yours started smelling after all those years not stinking.
Mrs L says
April 27, 2016 at 12:06 pmActually it didn’t smell it just quit working. The technician said that 14 years is good for an washer. It was a front load. I wonder if mold build up depends on the detergent used or the water quality? Anyway, your ability to dismantle a machine and figure that stuff out is amazing! You’re one handy-woman!:-) I’ve been enjoying your blog!
Kendra says
April 27, 2016 at 2:32 pmWater makes a big difference although we have a whole house filter and the water is decent. Anyway, that kind of stuff is fun. As kids my dad would give the boys and I small engines that no longer worked to scrap out. So a washing machine was just a step up!
Beverly Ondarcho says
September 20, 2016 at 3:00 pmThere’s an odor of mildew and mold that comes from standing water at the bottom of your washer outside the stainless steel drum , but within the lint trap and channel through the front lower panel.
I suppose because the lint trap doesn’t get cleaned therefore not letting all the water to drain out, so it gets stinky!
Sarah M says
September 7, 2017 at 7:15 pmMy hubby said that with that lint trap, if there’s build up, it might be harder on the pump too. We have a front-loader and we’ve got the smell too. 🙁 Friends have mentioned doing a deep clean, so we’re going to try the soap dispenser/tray and the rubber seal first. To get at the lint trap, we have to unstack the machines. Yay! Thanks for your article!
Kendra says
September 8, 2017 at 7:57 amUnstacking sounds like a chore 🙁 I have a new washer now and if it has a lint trap, I cannot find it lol. That being said, this machine has a couple self clean options that really make a difference in how fresh it smells.
Cassie says
July 7, 2016 at 11:31 amOmg thank you! I searched this on Pinterest before but didn’t find anything helpful other than to use bleach wash or vinegar and to clean between the rubbers. It didn’t work and our clothes stinks so bad. We live in a rental where our front loading machines are in the space where a closet is by the front door… that is a shared entrance with basement tenant so the smell in that hallway is horror. I’m gonna look and hope there’s a lint trap that I can clean out finally! Thank you!
Kendra says
July 7, 2016 at 10:57 pmI hope it helps you!
Dianna says
July 22, 2016 at 3:11 pmGood job! We have never had mold but had a small stink problem earlier this year. Cleaning out the lint trap did the trick. I couldn’t believe how much gunk and straight-up dirt was in there! No wonder it smelled bad.
Boop says
March 27, 2017 at 6:10 pmGood info for front loading machines.
Do they all have the lint trap? I have cleaned out the rubber inside the door .
Kendra says
March 27, 2017 at 6:15 pmMost of them do. Some even have a little door right on the front of the machine for easy cleanout. I cannot say all of them do though since I’m definitely not an expert 😉
Etty says
October 19, 2017 at 9:36 amThank you for the information, I will definitely try it.
Penny says
November 12, 2017 at 6:09 pmHi, I’m not an expect either, but just recently we bought a home that came with a front loader. It was my first experience with this type of washing machine. The seal was badly stained with mold and I scrubbed and scrubbed to get the worst of the mold clean. It wasn’t long before the washer began to spin very slowly and I needed a repairman. Once he came and took off the front panel, he found that the lint trap, was filled with coins, buttons and “color catcher sheets” that had all slipped down between the rim of rubber and metal part of the spinning section. He was able to locate this area without taking the machine off the platform. The machine worked great after this and the “funny” smell left also. 😄
Jan says
January 27, 2018 at 8:11 amMy old Maytag was horrible and we finally just got rid of it about 7 or 8 years ago as it felt like our clothes weren’t getting clean anymore either 🙁 Thanks for sharing this as it will come in handy! I’d love for you to share over at a new party called Let’s Party https://themarkandjanshow.com/2018/01/02/lets-party-5/… look forward to seeing you there!
Bee says
January 31, 2018 at 7:35 pmUgh yes! We just bought a house and the washer and dryer came with it. It was only 5 years old or so and a front loader too. (Ive never had one) amd my vlothes were stanky and it was having problems draining too. I took of the little plate and fornd the lint trap when i toom it our brown foul smelling junk came oout of the tube! Ah!.
Liz says
February 20, 2018 at 9:46 pmI’ve had front loaders since they first came out. If you have pets, the lint trap will get clogged with pet hair. After a while, if it’s not cleaned out, it will stop spinning. I clean mine out two or three times a year.
CHRISTINE CANAVAN says
October 17, 2018 at 5:38 pmI did not know about the washers lint trap but regularly clean the 2 in the dryer or machine will flash red light and stop spinning. Washer…nope, nothing. But the mold is there in rubber and drum. I will get right to it. Yuck
Louise says
May 7, 2019 at 11:21 amI have a front loader. After I finish using it, I take the soap dispenser out, and put it in a dishpan upside down to dry until the next day. I also wipe out the casing where the dispenser was. Then, I dry deep inside the rubber seal in the washer itself. After that, I dry the casing and the rubber seal with a hair dryer. I also leave the door open a crack all of the time. I don’t have any mold issues!!